


12 to 1

by NyxieSilverfire



Series: Misadventures in Babysitting [2]
Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Code Empress, Modern ish AU, Nightmares, PTSD, Storm Trooper, basically just modern conveniences and products in an otherwise Elrios world, elemental master, erbluhen emotion - Freeform, grand archer - Freeform, grand master - Freeform, iron paladin - Freeform, lord knight - Freeform, lunatic psyker - Freeform, noblesse - Freeform, not to bad though, rated for language, reckless fist - Freeform, royal guard, sakra devanam, some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-03-30 01:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19031845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxieSilverfire/pseuds/NyxieSilverfire
Summary: While Add's friends have returned to their normal selves, he is now a child, and determined to be as much a disaster for them as they were for him.





	1. Chapter 1

Add looked around. He could hear the sizzling of something on the skillet but ignored it. He had more important things to think about. How was he going to cause trouble first? Rena and Eve so far were the only ones that were up. Maybe he should wait until everyone was up? Maybe he could go wake someone up? That would help Rena wouldn't it? If he was helping then she couldn't get mad at him. He grinned and skipped up the stairs. His first victims were going to be… Elsword and Elesis. Since the siblings shared a room it would be easy enough.

Add stopped in front of the door and frowned. With a cat in his arms he couldn't really open it but he didn't want to put her down. Snowball was quite comfortable and he liked her purring. Dynamo couldn't really open doors that had basic doorknobs so that wasn't an option. He sighed. After reluctantly setting the cat on the ground, he opened the door to the El siblings' room.

Both of them were sound asleep. Elesis was lying on her stomach with her blanket piled up at the foot of her bed. Her pillow sat _on_ her head. The lower half of Elsword's body hung off his bed. The only thing keeping him on the bed was the blanket that was wrapped around his torso and stuck between the bed and the wall. Their snoring echoed off the walls. The floor was covered in clothes and many of the missing dishes were stacked up on top of the single desk between the door and the wall. Elsword's sword was lying on the ground next to his bed while his sister's leaned against the wall by the window. The windowsill was covered in various trinkets from some of the towns they visited before. The curtains were wide open, letting sunlight pour into the room, but somehow the siblings were still asleep.

Add stared around, wondering how their room could be such a mess. Even at it's worst, his wasn't this messy. He rolled his eyes. He carefully picked his way over to Elesis' bed, trying to think of a way to wake her up that was suitably troublesome. A grin spread across his face. He pulled up a screen on Dynamo and set the volume to as loud as he could get it. After picking out a song he climbed onto the knight captain's bed and jumped on it, “Get up!”

Elesis groaned, “Stop.” She pressed the pillow against the sides of her head, covering her ears.

Add stopped jumping. He braced himself against the wall and shoved her towards the edge of her bed with his feet.

Elesis didn't fall off like he hoped she would. Instead she twisted so that she just managed to stay on it. She finally opened her eyes and stared at him.

Add grinned at her and tried to shove her off the bed again.

Elesis shoved him back and sat up on her bed. She had to yell and even then he barely heard her over the music, “Why are you tiny?!”

Add shrugged. He glanced at Elsword. The swordsman was sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. Add grinned. His job here was done. He slid off Elesis' bed and trotted to the still open door. He almost crashed into Rena and stumbled back. Dynamo caught him before he fell. He looked up at her and smiled innocently.

Rena tapped Dynamo and pointed down.

Add stared at her, not understanding. After a moment though, it clicked, “Oh!” He obediently turned down the volume.

“What are you doing?” Rena asked.

Add grinned, “I'm helping!” He motioned to Elesis and Elsword, “I got them up for breakfast!”

“You're gonna wake up the whole street,” Elsword grumbled.

Add whipped around and glared at him, “It's not my fault you're so-”

“Add,” Rena interrupted calmly.

Add turned back to her, making sure to look innocent again, “Yes?”

“How about you come help me make breakfast?” Rena suggested.

Add stuck his tongue out, “That's boring!” He stomped his foot, “I wanna get everyone up!”

Rena's expression didn't change. She held out her hand for him to take, “Let's go downstairs.”

Add pouted. He stomped over to Rena, took her hand, and stomped all the way down the stairs back to the kitchen. So much for getting everyone up for breakfast. Unless… If he managed to slip away while Rena was cooking and tried something other than the loud music, maybe he could still get the others up.

The moment Rena's back turned, Add slipped silently back up the stairs. He opened the door to the room closest to the stairs but was disappointed to find Rose already getting up. She was in the process of pulling her hair up into a ponytail but looked at the door when he opened it. He snickered when she looked confused before looking down and seeing him. She blinked, “Hello, Add.” Her voice was the same cool tone as it always was.

Add looked up at her. It was annoying how tall she was now. Usually the two of them were around the same height. “Rena's making breakfast.”

Rose nodded. Her expression tightened slightly, annoyance barely visible on her face, “I heard you getting the siblings up.”

Add waved his hand dismissively, “They were being difficult.” Something reflecting the light from the window at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over and trotted up to it. Dynamo helped him up so he could reach the top of the shelf. It looked to be one of Rose's guns, but it was much much smaller than the ones he was used to seeing. He picked it up by the handle and dropped back to the ground. “What's this?” It was surprisingly heavy. The body of the weapon looked squashed compared to her other guns.

“Put that down!” Rose crossed the room in two strides and pried it out of his hand.

Add's head shot up to look at her. He yelped and stumbled back. Dynamo steadied him. He glared, “What was that for?! You didn't have to rip it out of my hands like that!”

“It's dangerous,” Rose insisted. She shook her head, “You don't pick up a weapon unless you intend to use it.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, “And a kid like you shouldn't be handling a weapon at all.”

“I'm not a kid!” Add hissed.

“You are right now. And you're entirely to irresponsible even without that fact.” Rose turned and motioned toward the door, “Outta my room.”

Add debated arguing with her. He decided it wasn't worth it and stormed out of the room. Rose closed the door behind him and he heard the click of the lock sliding into place. He found Snowball curled up on his pillow. After picking the cat up, he returned to Rena in the kitchen.

“There you are!” Rena let out an exasperated sigh. “Where did you run off to?”

Add shrugged, “I decided that if I was quiet I could still get the others but Rose got mad at me.”

Rena raised an eyebrow but he didn't explain any further. She frowned, “Well, help me with this.”

“Okay,” Add walked up to the stove. He had to stand on his toes to see what was in the skillet. There were eggs, something green, something orange, and little bits of what he could only assume was sausage or something similar. “Is that that scramble you were talking about?”

“Yep.”

“It looks done,” Add looked at her. She was chopping a banana. A blender sat on the counter next to her. He stood on Dynamo so he could more easily see what she was doing.

“It is,” Rena nodded. She smiled, “I'm making drinks now.”

“What kinds of drinks use all this stuff?” Add asked curiously. The counter had yogurt, milk, a little bottle labeled vanilla extract, and various other fruits all positioned around the blender and the cutting board.

“I'm making smoothies,” Rena explained.

“Smoothies?” Add repeated. “I thought smoothies were ice cream and all that stuff?”

“Those are shakes.”

Add frowned. He looked around at the ingredients then looked back at Rena, “What's the difference?”

“Shakes tend to be thicker,” Rena explained, “And a lot more sugary.”

“Why can't we make shakes?” Add asked.

Rena chuckled, “You all are hyper enough as it is. You don't need sugar.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Rena shoved a stack of bowls to him, “Organize the fruit for me? The strawberries and the bananas go together. The other berries go together. The cherries go by themselves. And the melons go together.”

Add pouted. He set Snowball down and moved over to organize the fruit like she asked. “You're not gonna cut the berries?” He asked as he grumpily dropped blueberries into a bowl.

“No. They're sized perfectly,” Rena responded.

Add frowned. This was boring but he continued without complaint. He blinked when he noticed his fingers turning purple-ish. He looked at Rena and raised one of his hands to show her, “Is this normal?”

Rena glanced at him and nodded with a slight smile, “Yeah. Blueberries will do that.”

Add stared at his fingers for a few moments. He shrugged and continued. Once he finished with the berries he moved on to the strawberries and bananas. He grimaced and let out a quiet hiss. The bananas were strangely chalky on the outside and slimy and gross on the inside. The strawberries had strange bumps on the outside and were all missing their tops. Curiosity demanded he eat one of the strawberries, since he couldn't remember trying one before, but he regretted it almost immediately. It was some combination of bitter and sour. Luckily, he had enough sense not to spit it out. Rena would _eat_ him if he did. When he finally managed to swallow it, he stared at her, “We're making stuff out of these?! They're awful!”

“What's awful?”

Add jumped and whirled around, forgetting he was standing on Dynamo. He nearly fell with a barely suppressed noise of surprise.

Raven stood behind him. He looked Add up and down for a moment before giving Rena a confused glance, “Why…?”

Rena shrugged, “I have no idea. He was like this when I got up this morning.”

Raven nodded slowly, “Okay.”

“I was talking about the strawberries,” Add muttered.

“Ah,” the shadows of a smile flickered across Raven's face.

Add went back to organizing the fruit, but listened to the two of them talk.

“Eve and I got what we needed for breakfast this morning, but we'll need another trip later for dinner and everything else,” Rena commented.

Raven nodded, “I can take care of that.”

Add thought for a moment. Maybe he would go along, see if he could figure out a way to bug Raven that wasn't going to get him killed. That depended on when Raven decided to leave and what else was happening at the time though. He sighed and studied the fruit.

Since it was so boring just organizing them how Rena wanted him to, maybe he could stack the fruit up in the bowl so each kind was grouped together. Add emptied the berries bowl and set to work. Dynamo placed guidelines only he could see along the bottom and the edges of the bowl that divided it into perfect thirds. Carefully, he stacked the raspberries together in one section of the bowl before doing the same for the blueberries and the blackberries. Then he did the same for the other fruit bowls.


	2. Chapter 2

“Rena. Ain and I are going on a dungeon run,” Rose reported after breakfast.

Add looked up. Rose stood next to Ain by the door. Both of them were more than prepared to go out in the chilly weather.

“Okay,” Rena nodded.

“Try to be back before lunch,” Raven advised with a wry smile. “We may not be able to save you guys some.”

Ain chuckled, “If it becomes necessary I'm sure we can get something for ourselves, Mr. Half Nasod.”

Raven nodded.

Add grinned. He slid up the stairs, noticed only by Sunshine, who watched him without a sound. Once he reached his room he shut the door as quietly as he could. As long as he stayed far enough behind them he could follow them out to the dungeon at least. He may even be able to get into it. With a small grunt he opened his window as high as it would go.

Dynamo carried him over to the roof of the neighboring house. Add crouched down just behind where the roof turned downward away from the street. Every house on the street was decorated with lights and decorations that hadn't been there the day before, like it had all been put up overnight. He watched Ain and Rose walk down the street. “Dynamo, plot a course to follow them,” he whispered.

Dynamo buzzed when it was finished and Add pulled up the screen. He followed the course it laid out, staying far enough behind they wouldn't notice him.

“What are you doing, Little Ancient?”

Add jumped and spun around to stare at Ain in surprise. Rose stood right next to the angel, her arms crossed over her chest. He thought they wouldn't notice him. How did they know he was following them? The annoying bot thing that assisted Rose was outlined in a softly glowing orange color. The stupid thing must've sensed him somehow. He scowled, “This isn't fair!”

“You were going to follow us into a dungeon?” Rose asked, a mix of shocked and annoyed.

“I can take care of myself,” Add snapped defensively. His eyes narrowed, “Besides, Dynamo's with me.”

“There's a reason we didn't bring you along, Little Ancient,” Ain commented mildly.

Rose rolled her eyes, “I swear. I don't think I've ever met a child with as little sense as you.”

Add hissed, “I'm not a child!”

“Whether you like it or not, you are right now.” Rose sighed, “Go back to the house.”

“No,” Add shook his head defiantly.

“Little Ancient, I highly doubt you got permission to be out here. Ms. Elf will be worried about you.”

“I'll be fine!”

“You're going back to the house,” Rose commanded.

“You can't tell me what to do,” Add studied them carefully. It was his goal to get on their nerves after all. They both remained composed, but Rose showed clear signs of agitation underneath.

Rose reached down and grabbed his hand. Her grip was firm without being tight.

Add tried to pull away from her. He argued, “I'm not going back! I told you I'd be fine!” He planted his feet into the ground and refused to be moved. That kept him in place until Ain's hand pressed into his back, pushing him forward. After that he didn't have much choice but to stumble after Rose. He continued fighting them the entire time, making sure they knew he had no intention of making it easy for them.

Rose opened the door to the house. Her teeth were clenched from irritation and the amount of effort it took to drag Add inside.

“Where have you been?!” Rena demanded immediately.

Add pulled free of Rose and raced up to Rena. He glared at Rose and Ain over his shoulder before looking up at the elf, “I wanted to help! But they dragged me back here!”

“Of course we did.” Rose sighed, “Dungeons are dangerous. No sane person would let a kid come along.”

“Dynamo doesn't make much of a difference if you're tiny, Little Ancient,” Ain commented.

“Add,” Rena remained calm. “You need to stay in the house unless one of us invites you along, okay?”

Add pouted. He shot another glare at Rose and Ain but reluctantly agreed, “Fine.”

Add followed Rena back up the stairs, trying to come up with something else to do. “I'm tired,” he complained. It was true. He was very tired, but he didn't have any energy drinks left. He decided it would be better to ask for one later since he just got dragged back into the house.

Rena sighed, “I'm not surprised. You've been doing a lot of running around.”

Add stuck his tongue out.

“Hey!” Lu skipped up to them, a broad grin on her face. Ciel followed along behind her. She patted Add's head, “Elesis said you were tiny but I wasn't expecting you to be _this_ small!”

Add stared. _Lu_ of all people was taller than him? He expected the others but… Lu?! It was only by a little bit, probably not even a full inch, but Dynamo confirmed it. He laughed weakly.

“Ciel!” Lu spun around to face her butler, “He can have cookies right?!”

Add brightened. He turned a pleading look to Ciel, “Please?”

Ciel hesitated, his voice obviously catching in his throat. Faced with two kids staring up at him, he sighed and nodded, “Of course. He can have cookies.”

Lu beamed, “Come on! Help me grab the cookie jar!”

Add hurried after Lu, leaving Rena behind. He could feel the elf's gaze watching him as he headed back downstairs. He followed the demon queen up onto the counter.

Lu grinned at him and leaned in close. “There's a toy store just down the street,” she whispered in his ear.

Add looked at her. He cocked his head to the side, “Okay?”

“I'm gonna get Ciel something but I want it to be a surprise. So, now that Ciel is busy getting lectured by Rena, we're gonna sneak away to the toy store,” Lu's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Add paused. Rena had said it was okay for him to go out as long as one of them brought him along. Lu counted right? She wasn't an _actual_ child after all. She was just a demon that lost her power. He grinned and nodded, “Okay.”

Lu slid off the counter and Add followed. She led him down a side hallway. They passed the stairs that led down to his and Eve's labs. He realized he hadn't followed the hallway to it's end and grew curious. The demon queen led him all the way down to where a door leading to the alleyway at the side of the house was, according to Dynamo, sealed shut.

Add watched in amazement as Lu pushed calmly against the door and a small section near the floor slid open. She crawled through the opening out into the alleyway. He followed, grumbling about the dust that insisted on clinging to his fingers and clothes. Lu closed the flap and helped brush some of the dust off. Dynamo set a course for the toy store and Add followed it.

“Where are you going?” Lu asked curiously, trotting after him.

“Dynamo says to go this way,” Add shrugged. He led the demon queen along the path Dynamo laid out.

“What happens if you don't follow it?” Lu wondered out loud.

Add shrugged again, “I don't know. I always do.”

“How come?”

“I don't know.”

“Don't you wanna test what happens if you take a different route?”

“No,” Add shook his head. There wasn't any need to test it. Dynamo always laid out the best way to get somewhere. It was efficient and meant he didn't have to waste time trying to figure out directions.

“Hmph.” Lu shrugged, “That's pretty boring though, don't you think?”

Add shook his head again, “Not really. It's not like Dynamo doesn't come up with interesting routes.” Just as he finished speaking the path led up and over a low wall. He got on top of it easily but had to reach down to help Lu up.

Lu jumped up and caught onto his hand. Working together the two of them managed to get her up onto the wall. Her tail twitched with irritation, “Well that was harder than it should've been.”

Add brushed off his shirt. He was all dirty now after laying on the wall to help her. He frowned.

“Come on, silly!” Lu called.

Add turned. The tiny demon had already dropped off the wall. She waited for him at the bottom with her hands on her hips. He scrambled down after her, but not without complaining about how dirty he was now.

“Don't worry. We can just walk the normal way back.” Lu skipped alongside him while he hovered just above the ground on Dynamo.

When the two reached the toy store, Lu walked directly over to the plushie section. “This is for you!” She grabbed a gigantic cat and dumped it onto Add.

Add fell backwards with an embarrassing squeak. The thing was bigger than he was but it was extremely soft which was a major plus. He shoved it off to Dynamo, sighing when it took all six to hold the giant cat stable. Lu was wandering off and he had to run to catch up with her.

“Hmm.” The demon looked around thoughtfully. She pulled out a slightly smaller but no less fluffy wolf for herself. “Now, what should I get for Ciel?” She looked around, “He'll like all of these, so it's really hard to choose.”

Add looked around. He grabbed onto a giant rabbit's ears. He grunted from the effort of tugging it free. “A bunny!”

Lu gasped. A grin spread across her face, “It's perfect! It even has blue eyes!” She held out the wolf, “Here, trade you. You carry this one, Dynamo can carry yours and I'll carry Ciel's!”

“Um? I would prefer not to.” Lu's wolf wasn't much smaller than the cat she grabbed him. He was going to have a hard time keeping it off the ground.

Lu shook it insistently so he very reluctantly took it. She skipped up to the cashier, with Ciel's rabbit in her arms and paid for all three plushies. She dragged Add out of the store just as Ciel was jogging up. “Ciel!”

Add looked up and smiled innocently, “Hi, Ciel!”

“Here you guys are!” Ciel's voice was stern, “You can't just go disappearing like-”

“We got you one!” Lu interrupted holding up the rabbit with a bright smile, “See!”

“U-Uh…” Ciel struggled to keep up his firm appearance.

“It's all soft!” Lu reached out and grabbed her butler's hand. She placed his hand on the rabbit's head and made him pet it.

Add snickered watching Ciel crumble.

Ciel inevitably took the rabbit so Add could hand Lu back her wolf. The half demon also inevitably told Rena he took the two of them out to the toy store to keep them out of trouble. That was apparently the unspoken deal between him and Lu. Ciel helped the two of them get the monstrously large plushies up to their respective rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

Add sat, swinging his legs, with his chin on the table, bored out of his mind. Most everyone was upstairs doing whatever. After what happened with Rose he didn't feel like testing his luck going into anyone else's room. Raven was reading on the couch but no attempt at messing with him had been successful. At most Raven patted Add's head.

Raven said Rena was taking a shower and the El siblings had taken Lu and Ciel on a dungeon run. Dynamo didn't really need Add's attention since he hadn't done anything all day and both the cats were sleeping. He could not physically bring himself to wake them up just so they would play with him. That left him by himself with nothing to do.

“Hey Add,” Ara smiled warmly. She walked up to him from the kitchen. She held out one of the extra smoothies from breakfast to him, holding one for her in her other hand.

Add lifted his head and took it.

“You look pretty bored,” Ara sat at the table next to him.

Add nodded, “Yeah. I don't have anything to do.”

“We can do something together if you want,” Ara offered.

“Like what?” Add sipped from the smoothie. Thankfully it was a melon smoothie. The cherry vanilla ones weren't bad but the other two flavors were terrible.

“Well… what do you wanna do?” Ara seemed hesitant to offer an activity herself.

Add rolled his eyes, “I'm bored out of my mind. At this point I don't even care.”

Ara's expression sharpened and when she spoke her voice was smoother and deeper, “She wants to teach you to make paper cranes.” She blinked and her face and voice returned to normal, “You don't have to if you don't want to of course!”

Add stared at her. That must've been Eun but he thought the fox spirit only talked to Ara. He wasn't aware she could talk through Ara. He shrugged, “I said I didn't care so sure.” If he was being honest he wasn't enthused by the idea of folding paper but he didn't have anything better to do.

“Okay,” Ara leaped to her feet. “I'll go get some paper!”

Add leaned back against the back of the chair and took another sip from the smoothie. He got to his feet and wandered over to Raven, “When are you going to the store?”

“When the siblings, Lu, and Ciel come back,” Raven answered without looking up from his book. “Elesis said she wanted to come.”

“Can I come?”

“As long as you behave.”

Add grinned, “Of course!” He had no intention of behaving, but Raven didn't need to know that. He was back in his seat by the time Ara made it back down the stairs with a small stack of brightly colored paper. All of the paper was shaped like a square.

Ara set the stack of paper between the two of them, took a piece, and gave a piece to him. “So…” First she folded a whole crane, explaining each fold she made. Then she grabbed another piece of paper to fold another one along with him.

Add quickly got frustrated. He didn't think it would be so hard to fold paper. Ara made it look so easy? He managed to make a kite shape but after that nothing made sense. She started folding in weird places and turning things inside out and he got lost. “This is stupid!” Add shoved the partially folded paper across the table angrily and hid his face in his arms. What was the point of trying if it didn't make any sense? He was guaranteed to fail anyway.

“Wait, don't get upset!” Ara rushed to console him. Her chair skidded along the floor and a moment later Add felt her hand tentatively touch the back of his head. He lifted his head and glared at her. She pulled the paper back to him, “I can show you on yours, if you want?”

Add looked at the paper then back to Ara. He nodded and watched her fold it with his chin tucked into the curve of his elbow. She explained each fold but, since she was folding it for him, he only really heard her voice instead of registering what she was saying. In a strange way it was more fascinating to watch her fold the paper rather than listen to her explain it.

“There, see!” Ara held up the finished paper crane.

Add took it and looked at it curiously. Dynamo said it couldn't fly. While that didn't surprise him it was disappointing. He lifted his gaze to Ara's face, “Do you think we could make something that can actually fly out of paper?”

Ara shrugged, “I don't really know. I only really know how to make cranes.”

Add looked back at the crane. The fact that the only thing she could fold was something so tediously complicated was crazy. Then again, that kind of paradoxical thing seemed to be a universal rule with Ara. She was the same person that could execute complicated and graceful spear techniques with ease but couldn't walk on stairs without falling after all.

“My mother tried to teach me how to make other things but I never really got it,” Ara shrugged. She sat in the seat next to him, “She was proud of me for the cranes though. So we spent a lot of time together making them.”

Add glanced at her then back at the crane. He stared at it. Very quietly he said, “My mother showed me flowers.”

“Really?” Ara smiled, “That's awesome!” She zoned out for a second then hesitantly suggested, “Eun says there's an indoor public garden nearby. If-If you want to go look at some flowers.”

Add's head jerked up. He stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open, “I…” Why would Ara want to go look at flowers with him? He didn't tell her that because he wanted her to do anything about it. He just wasn't quite able to stop himself from saying it. Besides, she was talking about her mother. What else was he supposed to say?

“Only if you want to,” Ara spoke quickly, “I understand if you don't. We just did something my mother showed me. I thought you might like to do something your mother showed you too. Like a sort of trade.”

“A… trade?” Add thought silently. Finally he nodded, “Okay. But we have to be back before Elesis. I'm going with her and Raven to the store.”

Ara smiled, “Okay. We can do that!” She grabbed his coat for him and then led the way to the indoor garden.

Add immediately went over to a group of white flowers near the entrance. They were partially hidden behind a large patch of pale lilies. He looked back to Ara, “These ones aren't the same, but they're close to ones I've seen before. Part of a similar genus.”

Ara nodded with a broad smile, “They're so pretty!”

Add grinned, “My mother used Nasod technology to revive ancient plant species all the time!” He paused uncertainly. It was uncomfortable, yet weirdly nice to talk about his mother to someone.

Ara's eyes widened, “I didn't realize Nasod technology could do that…”

Add nodded, “I don't know exactly what she did, but it's kinda like how Raven is connected to his arm. She just put codes and programs into plants to bring back out the properties of their ancestor plants that had faded with time.”

“That's really cool,” Ara sounded impressed.

Add wandered off to look at some of the other plants in the garden. A few minutes later, when he noticed Ara wasn't with him, he looked around. He saw her standing a few feet away talking with an elderly couple. He stomped back over to her and tugged on her sleeve to get her attention, “What are you doing? You're supposed to be looking at flowers with me, not talking to boring old people.”

“Add, be nice,” Ara scolded.

Add stuck out his tongue, “But you haven't come to see the jasmine yet.”

“Very demanding isn't he?” The old lady chuckled. “Is he yours?”

“Uh-wha- no! He's my… little brother?” Ara stuttered.

“Yeah!” Add glared at the old lady. “So you can shove a cact-” He cut off when Ara covered his mouth.

“Let's go look at the jasmine!” Ara smiled awkwardly at the older couple and gently shoved Add away. Once they were turned away she removed her hand.

Add sulked, “Come on! That was gonna be funny!”

“You can't just say stuff like that to people,” Ara told him.

“They shouldn't be asking questions like that,” Add muttered.

“It was an innocent question. They didn't know.”

“It was a prying question.” How in the world did the old lady think he was Ara's kid? Ara wasn't anywhere near old enough for that to make any sense.

“Let's just keep looking at flowers and we'll pretend that didn't happen, okay?” Ara patted his head.

Add glared up at her for a moment but agreed, “Okay, fine.”


	4. Chapter 4

On their way home an hour later, Add and Ara met up with Elesis, Elsword, Lu, and Ciel, who were also on their way home. Raven was still reading on the couch but glanced up when they came back in, “Good. You guys are back.” He looked at Elesis, “You're still coming to the store, yes?”

Elesis nodded, “Of course.”

“I'm coming too!” Add insisted.

“I haven't forgotten,” Raven assured him.

Add grinned. He followed Elesis and Raven to the store. It was huge. All the outer walls were pale brick. The floor was shiny linoleum. He accidentally found out he could leave weird black marks on the floor with his shoes. When he tried leaving those marks on purpose, it proved a lot harder than it originally seemed.

It wasn't until Raven told him he couldn't have an energy drink that he really started causing chaos. Partially because he wanted one, and partially just to see what Raven would do. “That's not fair! I need it!”

“No you do not,” Raven responded calmly. He looked down at Add, “Let's go.”

“No!” Add stomped his foot and glared up at Raven defiantly. He ignored the small flutter of anxiety in his chest when he did so.

“I told you, you needed to behave in order to come.” Raven reminded him, “That includes when I tell you something you don't want to hear. You don't need that much caffeine.”

“I do!” Add yelled. “I'm tired!”

“We deal with being tired by sleeping,” Elesis told him.

Add transferred the glare to her but Raven spoke before he could, “Elesis. I appreciate the help, but I'll handle this.”

Elesis nodded, “Right.”

Add clenched his teeth, “I need one.”

Raven turned his attention back to Add. He remained just as calm as he was before, “And I've told you you aren't getting one. Are you going to continue pitching your fit and make us take you back to the house or are you going to behave yourself and continue the shopping with us?”

“That's not fair,” Add crossed his arms over his chest but transferred the glare to the ground. He stomped his feet while he mutinously followed Elesis and Raven through the store. This was stupid. How come nothing he did worked on Raven? It wasn't fair. Even Rose's discipline cracked if he annoyed her enough.

Add yelped in surprise when someone lifted him up. “What are you doing?!” He looked up just as Elesis put him in the basket of a shopping cart.

“I'm putting you in the cart so you don't have to walk everywhere,” Elesis told him. She smiled, “You're small enough.”

Add pouted. He sat against the front of the cart and crossed his arms over his chest. It didn't take long for him to get bored glaring into space. He picked up a ketchup bottle that was sitting next to his foot and looked over the ingredients list. He ended up doing the same for every item that was put into the cart. When he was caught up faster than Raven and Elesis were putting new things in, he turned his attention to the stuff on the shelves.

Add carefully leaned out of the cart, trying to reach a soup on one of the shelves opposite the cart. He propped himself on Dynamo and stretched the fingers of his hand trying to grab one. His fingers brushed against it but he couldn't close his grip on it. He repositioned himself and leaned over again.

“Add, be careful,” Raven's voice startled Add and he nearly fell. Dynamo caught him and helped him get himself back into the cart. He glared at Raven and sat against the edge of the cart again. Something new in the cart caught his attention, and he picked it up to read the ingredients.

A few minutes later the upper half of Add's body hung over the edge of the cart. He let his arms hang. When he spoke his voice was somewhere between a whine and a groan, “I'm soooo bored.” Raven and Elesis weren't putting things in the cart fast enough for reading ingredients to keep him entertained.

“Well, the aisle is empty,” Elesis glanced around.

Add lifted his head just enough to glare at her. “Really? I didn't notice. It's not like the entire store is empty or anything,” he responded sarcastically.

“There's a few other people here,” Elesis shrugged.

Add stuck his tongue out and let his head hang again. It was exhausting holding it up so he could look at her. Hanging out in the public garden with Ara was better than this. Raven wasn't any fun. Elesis wasn't any fun. This entire store trip wasn't any fun. What was the point of even coming along? If he had known nothing he did was going to work Raven or Elesis, he wouldn't have bothered. He was beginning to think it would've been more fun to stay home. Aisha at least was always fun to annoy so he wouldn't ever get bored as long as she was there.

Elesis grabbed the side of the cart with her hand and turned it around, so she could grab the handle. “C'mon, buddy. Get back in the cart.”

Add gave her a defiant look, “You're not Rena. You can't tell me what to do.”

“It'll be fun. I promise,” Elesis' eyes sparkled with amusement.

Add narrowed his eyes. He hesitated but inevitably pushed himself up and sat back so he was fully in the cart again.

Elesis grinned.

Add squeaked but started laughing. Elesis ran down the aisle with the cart. She hopped up onto the bar underneath the main basket and rode it. As it approached the end of the aisle she dropped down and pulled it to a stop.

“Elesis,” Raven called.

Add glared at where the man was still looking at the frozen vegetables at the other end of the aisle. How come he always had to ruin the fun?

“Yeah?” Elesis jogged over to Raven.

Add watched them but he couldn't hear what they were saying. Raven handed Elesis some money. She nodded and walked away while Raven came to grab the cart. “Where's Elesis going?” Add demanded.

“To get you something to do,” Raven answered.

“Can't I go with her?”

Raven shook his head, “You're staying with me.”

“Why?” Add demanded, “Can't I choose what I get to do?”

“She's getting you a game.”

“That doesn't mean it's gonna be a good game.” Add glared at Raven. He tried to jump over the edge of the basket but Raven stopped him.

“I said you're staying here with me. Elesis will be back in a bit.”

“You aren't Rena. You can't tell me what to do,” Add hissed.

“If you want to talk to Rena about it, then I can take you home,” Raven told him, his patience now starting to visibly wear thin.

“No.” Add sulked and sat back down. He noticed Raven keeping a closer eye on him to make sure he didn't go anywhere and rolled his eyes. “Stupid old man,” he muttered under his breath. If Raven heard, he gave no sign of it. Add preoccupied himself with organizing the contents of the cart based on temperature, then packaging color, while he waited for Elesis to get back with a game. He hoped it would at least be entertaining.

“Here ya go,” Elesis held out a game and a closed game pad when she finally got back. “This should be confusing enough to keep you entertained for a while.”

“Confusing?” Add took the game and looked at it. “Kingdom Hearts? Three hundred and fifty eight…divided by? Two Days?” He frowned and looked back at Elesis, “What? How are those numbers supposed to be said?”

Elesis shrugged, “I don't know. I haven't played it. I've just heard it's really complicated.”

Add looked back at the game. He had Dynamo looked it up since he was pretty sure he was saying the title incorrectly. “Oh. It's three five eight days over two. Okay.” He stared at it, “That doesn't make any sense.” _Whatever_. He shrugged and started playing.


	5. Chapter 5

Add made Dynamo carry his share of groceries while they walked back to the house. He walked next to Elesis, but his attention was focused on the game. It seemed interesting but he had a feeling he was missing some part of the explanation. That annoyed him enough that he wasn't fully enjoying the game. He looked up the series in general on Dynamo. “No wonder nothing makes sense!” Add glared at Elesis, “This isn't even the first game!”

“Chill,” Elesis responded. “It was the only one the store had for that console. That was part of that series anyway. I could've gotten you Pokemon but I doubted it'd actually be entertaining for you.”

Add stuck his tongue out, “No. Pokemon is boring.” He turned his attention to Raven, “I want the first one.”

“Not right now,” Raven shook his head.

Add scowled but didn't press. He didn't feel like dying today. Besides. He could just ask Ciel later. It's not like Ciel would tell him no and he would be stupid not to take full advantage of being small and cute while it lasted. Especially since it seemed to limit everything else he did as far as any of the others was concerned.

“How'd it go?” Rena greeted them cheerfully.

“Went alright,” Raven answered. “Add pitched a fit when I told him he couldn't have an energy drink. And when I told him he couldn't go with Elesis to get a game.”

Rena nodded.

Add held the game's package up for Rena to see, “Elesis told me it should be confusing in a fun sort of way but she didn't even get the first game so it's just confusing.”

“Really?” Elesis demanded. “I told you it was the only one they had for that series on that platform.”

“At least she thought to get something that could be entertaining,” Rena smiled. “Did you thank her?”

Add frowned. He looked back at Elesis over his shoulder and flatly said, “Thanks.”

Elesis sighed, “No problem, buddy.”

Rena sighed. “Well, let's get these groceries put away.” Raven and Elesis helped her and Chung and Ara take the groceries to the kitchen.

Add followed them over. He helped by grabbing stuff out of the bags and handing it to whoever was closest. Sunshine walked up and sat calmly next to him. He petted her. It upset him a little bit that she seemed to prefer Chung now but at least she still spent time with him. He looked around for Snowball but didn't see her. He got up and tugged on Ara's sleeve.

“Hey, Add.” Ara smiled brightly down at him.

“Was Snowball fed lunch?” Add asked.

Ara was quiet for a while, “I… think so?”

“Aisha and I fed the cats while you guys were at the garden,” Chung said.

Add frowned. “Which cat did Aisha feed?”

“Uh…?” Chung looked confused but tentatively answered, “Sunshine. I think?”

“Okay,” Add shrugged indifferently. He headed up the stairs and found Ciel and Lu in their room. “Ciel.”

“Yeah, Add?” Ciel turned.

“Whatcha doin?” Lu asked, patting Add's head.

Add ducked away from her and swatted her hand away. “Elesis got me a game, but it wasn't even the first one.”

“Okay…” Ciel said slowly.

“Can we go get me it? Well, there's a mix that has three. It has the first one and a different one and the scenes for the one I already have. And that's for the PS3.” Add explained.

Ciel hesitated.

“But it's supposed to snow isn't it?” Lu demanded. “We'll get caught in it if we go out.”

“So?” Add responded, “We have coats.”

“Ciel grew up in Lanox, silly,” Lu reminded him. “He's sensitive to the cold.”

“But-”

“As long as it isn't actively snowing tomorrow then we can go at the warmest part of the day, okay?” Ciel suggested.

Add sulked but reluctantly agreed. He left their room and headed for his own. Snowball was curled up on his pillow but she lifted her head when he walked in. He picked her up and carried her over to his desk. He spent the rest of the afternoon playing the Kingdom Hearts game Elesis got him. Even if it wasn't the first one of the series, it was interesting enough.


	6. Chapter 6

“No games after bed time,” Raven held the game pad up above his head, far from where Add could easily reach it.

“But it's mine! And since when did I have a bed time?!” Add looked around Raven, calculating a way to get it out of the man's hand. Unfortunately when he tried to use Dynamo to reach, Raven simply moved his arm, and Add still didn't get the game. This process had been repeating itself for nearly twenty minutes.

“Technically you've always had a bed time,” Raven commented mildly. “You just consistently ignore it.”

“So what?” Add demanded. He tried again and failed again. “You never had a problem with it before!”

Raven shrugged, “You were an adult. And you didn't bother anybody else.”

“What does being an adult have to do with anything?” Add whined. He glared at Raven, whirled around, and stormed off. He stomped over to Rena and buried his face into her side, “Raven won't let me have my game.”

“Add, it's bed time,” Rena patted his head gently.

Add looked down and grumbled under his breath. He didn't try to argue any further but he also didn't move. Not that he would ever admit it to any of the others, even if it would make getting his game more likely, but he didn't like being in the dark. Certainly not alone. Bad things happened in the dark. Small as he was now, when something did happen there was nothing he could do about it. Unfortunately, even if he stayed downstairs, everyone would eventually move upstairs to their own rooms. He'd be left alone no matter what he did.

“Here ya go!” Lu dumped Sunshine into his arms.

Add squeaked and looked up in surprise. “What…?”

Lu grinned, “You like cats right?”

Add stared at her, “Yeah? I don't see how that pertains to-”

Lu's expression and tone were abruptly completely serious, “Cats can see stuff even demons can't.”

Add's eyes widened. Did Lu know what he was thinking just now? There was no way. She couldn't read minds.

Lu grinned again, “Or so I've heard at least. Either way, their purring is a nice thing to sleep to, dontcha think?”

“Uh…?” Add wasn't really sure what to do with the situation he found himself in. He looked at Rena hiding the small alarm bells going off in his head with confusion.

“If you want to take the cats with you to bed, that's fine,” Rena nodded.

Add looked down at Sunshine. The golden cat looked about as confused as he did but she didn't seem to have any intention of moving either. With a hesitant glance around, he made his way upstairs. Snowball was sitting on the windowsill, half obscured by the curtains.

Add closed his bedroom door with his foot and set Sunshine down. He climbed onto his desk, which sat right in front of the window, and crawled across it so he could pull the curtain opened. His eyes widened in surprise. Snow was still falling, much more thickly than it had been off and on for most of the late afternoon and evening. That wasn't what caught his attention though. A light, positioned just above his window, illuminated the flakes as they fell past it.

Snowball meowed at him loudly. She placed one of her front paws on his arm and then pressed it against the window. Her expression was bright with excitement.

“Yeah?” Add looked down at her, then back out at the snow. He sat on the edge of his desk, petted her, and rested his feet on the windowsill.

Sunshine made a strange low yowling sound.

Add jumped, what Lu told him echoing in his head. He shook his head roughly, “She said it was _only_ something she heard.” He turned to look at the cat and saw her sitting right in front of the door, her tail wrapped neatly over her paws, staring directly at the window. Her eyes reflected what little light there was.

He stared for a second before quickly turning back around. Maybe he should close the curtains? She was fine before they were opened. Add glanced back at Sunshine. She was in the process of stretching now. He watched her carefully. She seemed much more relaxed as she trotted across the room, jumped up onto the desk, and settled herself next to him.

Add stared at her for many long moments but finally transferring the stare to the window. “That was weird.” He blinked and tapped her head between her ears lightly with one of his fingers, “Don't scare me like that again.”

Sunshine's response sounded vaguely like a chirp.

“Just a sec,” Add climbed off the desk.

Snowball called after him, seeming insistent.

“Hold on. Hold on,” Add rolled his eyes. He smiled and chuckled softly, “You're so needy.” He pulled one of the many blankets he hoarded out of his closet. He dragged it over to the desk and draped it over the top, picking Sunshine up as he did so. Since the cat wasn't nearly as much of a fan of being held as Snowball was, he made sure to only hold her for as long as it took to set the blanket up properly. He grabbed some of his extra pillows and set them up on top of the blanket. He moved the cats from their current spots onto the pillows he grabbed for them. Then he climbed back onto his desk and returned to watching the snow fall.

“See?” Add petted the cats. “Blankets and pillows are much better than wood and whatever the windowsill is made out of. Plaster?” He shrugged. It didn't matter. He sat and watched the snow fall past his window with both cats for the rest of the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Add followed Elesis to the window next to the front door. When she pushed the curtains aside everything was white. He blinked a few times. Snow covered the ground and was still falling. Heavy clouds blocked out any trace of the sky. The ambient light was much brighter than the last time he looked outside and the snow reflected it. He touched the glass of the window and quickly pulled away. It was icy cold.

Elesis gasped, “It's the first snow!” She grinned and turned to Add, “You know what that means, buddy?”

Add frowned, “But it's not even December.”

“It will be in two days,” Elesis held up two fingers before excitedly half-jogging toward the kitchen.

“That's still two days.” Add followed her. If the redhead heard him she didn't acknowledge it.

“Hey Rena, we still have last year's Christmas decorations right?”

Rena paused in cooking breakfast long enough to think. “I think so…” Her attention returned to the food, “Raven probably knows where they are. If we didn't keep them then we can get some more later.”

Elesis nodded, “Alright.” She left the kitchen and headed for the stairs, calling to Add over her shoulder, “C'mon, Add. Let's go get the Christmas decorations from Raven.”

Add glared but he stomped after her. “But it's _not_ December!”

“It's the first snow. Winter time is Christmas time,” Elesis skipped up the stairs.

“It's not even winter! It's still autumn!”

“It's the first snow.”

“That doesn't mean anything,” Add whined insistently.

Elesis ruffled his hair, “Cheer up, buddy. It'll be fun. We'll decorate the house and the Christmas tree and,” she grinned and leaned in closer to him. “Christmas time is also the perfect time for sweets. Ciel will be making a _bunch_ of cookies.”

Add remained silent. He looked away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, “Fine.” He let Elesis lead him to Raven's room. The door was wide open. Add could hear Raven rummaging through stuff, presumably in his closet, but couldn't see him. The bed was covered in Christmas decorations.

“Oh sweet!” Elesis laughed, “You were expecting me to ask, huh?”

Raven chuckled, “You and Elsword always do after the first snow.”

“It's dumb,” Add muttered under his breath.

“We're gonna need a new tree before we start decorating, so we'll do that later,” Raven told them.

“Ah damn. Alright,” Elesis led the way back down the stairs.

“What was the point of asking, if we aren't going to decorate right now anyway?” Add muttered under his breath. He followed Elesis back to the kitchen. The kitchen smelled like some combination of cinnamon, eggs, and sausage. Add stuck his tongue out. Eggs were disgusting. “How long until breakfast?”

“It's still going to be a while,” Rena answered.

Elesis smiled, “How about we go outside and play in the snow?”

“But it's cold outside,” Add argued.

“Hot chocolate is better when you're cold,” Elesis told him.

Rena raised an eyebrow but remained focused on breakfast.

Add's eyes narrowed, “That's not true.”

“It is,” Elesis insisted.

“It's not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Have you ever had hot chocolate after playing in the snow?” Elesis asked.

Add frowned, “No.” He never actually bothered to play in snow before. Why would he when he had better things to be doing? Inside. In his room. Where he could wrap himself in as many blankets as he saw fit. It didn't make sense that hot chocolate would taste better when he was cold. “Temperature doesn't affect taste.”

“It does,” Elesis argued. She chuckled, “But that's not what makes hot chocolate so good after playing in the snow all day. The best way to find out is to test it yourself.”

“Test it myself? Why?” Add demanded. “Why can't you just tell me?”

“Cuz there isn't really a way to describe it,” Elesis shrugged.

“This is stupid. Why would I play in the snow _all_ day just to figure out what you're talking about.”

“But we won't be. It'll just be until breakfast is ready.” Elesis grinned, “And then we'll have both hot chocolate and a nice warm breakfast.”

“You can't have two variables in an experiment,” Add snapped. “If we're testing the hot chocolate then we can't have breakfast too.”

“We'll test the hot chocolate first. Then we'll eat breakfast.”

“That's not what you just said,” Add reminded her angrily.

“I know,” Elesis nodded. “But I'm changing what I said because you're right. There can't be two variables in an experiment so we have test the hot chocolate before we can eat breakfast.”

Add studied her for a moment, trying to see if she was serious. She seemed to be. “It's cold outside,” he looked away. Elesis was most likely trying to bribe him into going outside and he wasn't going to fall for it. Besides, hot chocolate was just fine when he spent all day inside. He didn't need to test it.

Add really hoped the snow stopped falling before the warmest part of the day. Otherwise Ciel wasn't going to get the first Kingdom Hearts game for him. Well, more like Lu wasn't going to let Ciel get the game for him.

“I promise it'll be fun. We'll get all the others to come with us and we'll make snowmen and have snowball fights and all that stuff,” Elesis told him cheerfully.

“How are you supposed to make anything out of snow when it's all…” Add trailed off. He struggled to find the right word to describe the texture of snow. “Crumbly…? And loose?” He shook his head and growled in frustration, “It doesn't have a good texture to make stuff with!”

A question popped randomly into Add's head and he glanced at Elesis, “Water conducts electricity right?” He didn't pay attention to her answer. He knew it did. Something to do with the minerals that were present in it. Could snow conduct electricity? With the immobility of the molecules in a state that was more solid than liquid, it was likely a negligible amount, but it would be fascinating to see either way. If he altered the make-up of the snow, he might be able to increase or decrease that amount as well. Every mineral conducted electricity differently after all.

Add paused then whined. He didn't want to go outside!

“What are you whining about?” Elesis asked.

“I don't want to go outside,” Add complained.

“If you really-”

“I'm going to,” Add interrupted irritably. “I just don't want to.”

Elesis looked confused, “This has something to do with your question about water, huh?”

Add pouted and refused to look at her.

Elesis shrugged, “Welp. We still gotta see if the others will come out to play with us.”

Add stuck his tongue out at her, “You can do that, can't you? I'm getting Snowball.”

“Why…?” Elesis stared after him as he zipped across the room toward the stairs on Dynamo.

Add stopped and turned around, “She was really excited about the snow. It seems unfair to keep her inside all day.” He continued up the stairs but didn't miss Elesis' comment on how he was nicer to a cat than he was to his friends. He snorted and waited for her to reach the top of the stairs before he responded, making sure to have a bright smile on his face, “If it makes you feel any better, I'm nicer to cats than I am to everyone. Besides! It's not like I've threatened to torture any of you guys!”

Add turned on his heel, stepped back onto Dynamo, and zipped down the hall and up the stairs to the third floor where his room was. He opened the door and Sunshine took the opportunity to slip out of his room. He didn't chase her. She was likely going to give Chung a belated good morning, since he was her favorite.


	8. Chapter 8

Snowball was curled up on the pillow she sat on through the night, asleep. Add felt bad but he still woke her up. He was sure going outside in the snow would be better to her than taking a nap. When the cat woke up, Add picked her up and carried her out of his room. He just managed to catch Eve while she was talking to Elesis outside her room. “Eve!”

Eve turned to him, “Hello, Add.” She glanced at Elesis who just shrugged.

Add didn't pay any mind to the redhead as his question was much more immediate and certainly more important than whatever Elesis had to talk about. “You have minerals and stuff in your lab, right?”

Eve nodded.

Add smiled, “Can I have some? I want to do an experiment.”

“What kind of experiment?” Eve asked.

“I wanna see how much salt I have to add to the snow to turn it into a battery,” Add stated plainly.

“What the-For the love of the El Lady, Add!” Elesis stared at him.

Eve immediately shook her head, “No. I'm not going to provide you the materials for that.”

“Why not?!” Add demanded.

“It's not anything that would aid the search party in anyway,” Eve answered calmly.

Add sulked. He stormed off, back down the stairs. “Give me just a second,” he set Snowball on the couch so that he could grab salt from the cabinets. She followed him, as she was prone to doing whenever she wasn't sleeping. Dynamo of course, could provide the electricity, and he had spare wires in his own lab that he could grab. He headed for the kitchen and made certain to check the labels, since sugar wouldn't do what he wanted.

“Careful, Add,” Ciel warned. “Aisha switched the labels again.” It appeared he was helping Rena make breakfast now.

Add stared at him, “What?! That's not even fair!” One of the few times he actually checked the label and Aisha messed it up?! He looked around, “Where's the salt then?”

Ciel looked around, “Well, the shaker is in the spice cabinet. And the baking jar is on the counter right there.” He pointed to it.

“I want the big jar!” Add insisted.

“Why?” Rena paused what she was doing to look at him.

“Cuz I need it for something,” Add mumbled. Since telling Eve what he wanted to do made her tell him no, he didn't want to mention it and possibly ruin his chances at getting it at all.

“What do you need it for?” Rena asked.

“Well…” Add looked away. He desperately tried to come up with an explanation Rena would agree to. He really needed to start being more prepared for situations like this. Even though he said that to himself every time, he never was.

“He wants to turn the snow outside into a battery,” Eve answered calmly as she walked into the kitchen to get some tea out of the fridge.

Ciel and Rena both stared at Eve for a moment. Ciel turned a bewildered look to Add, “Why?”

Add shuffled his feet and looked down, “To see if I can.”

Rena sighed, “Why am I not surprised?”

“Maybe because he gave us the same reasoning after making a spider using a potato as a power source?” Ciel commented with a chuckle.

Add snickered. He terrorized an entire town with that potato spider. It managed to get out one of the windows because he gave it the ability to jump. He did design it to terrorize Aisha, but it getting out and starting a panic was probably one of his greatest achievements. He was never going to top that. Unfortunately, the others brought it back to him in pieces, since they couldn't shut it off, and Rena banned potatoes. She also used the rest of the potatoes they had to make a stew that night. It was almost all potatoes and it was disgusting.

Add looked at Rena, “Am I not getting the salt?”

Despite how amused she seemed, Rena shook her head, “No. You're not getting the salt.”

Add looked away, “Okay.” He dragged his feet while he walked toward the door that would take him out to the yard. At the very least he could hang out with Snowball while she played outside. He wasn't going to keep that from her just because he didn't have anything to do.

“Hey Add!” Ara greeted him the moment he stepped outside.

“Hey.” Add didn't look at her. He looked around. Aisha and Chung were helping Ara build a snowman. Elesis, Elsword, Lu, Rose, Ain, and Raven were all in the middle of a snowball fight in the center of the yard. Elesis, Elsword, and Lu appeared to be working as a team to beat Raven, Ain, and Rose who were also a team.

During the summer the yard doubled as a training area so that they could “keep their skills sharp” as Raven would say. All the training stuff was in the shed. For some reason, in the winter, they went to the designated training area outside of town. Once Add thought about it, it was probably because no one wanted to risk destroying one of the snowmen Ara, Chung, Aisha, and Rena made every year. They made enough for a small army.

Add still needed to get Aisha back for switching the salt and sugar labels. He frowned. Dynamo identified patches of ice under the thick layer of snow that covered everything past the patio. The stairs, especially, were dangerous.

Careful to avoid the ice patches, Add made his way to the edge of the patio. He experimentally picked up some snow but it fell through his fingers like sand. He frowned and picked his way over to Elesis, making sure to stay well out of range of the flying snowballs for as long as he could. He tugged on her coat, “Hey. How do you make snowballs?”

“Huh?” Elesis grinned, “Here. Watch.” She picked up some snow and squeezed her hand shut over it. When she opened her hand, the snow was compacted into the shape of the inside of her fist. She piled more snow onto it, pressing it into itself each time until it was about the size of her palm and vaguely spherical in shape. She shook the excess off but made sure not to shake so hard that she destroyed it. “Tada!” She held it up for him to see.

“Then you throw it at somebody!” Lu declared excitedly.

“You should throw it at Raven,” Elsword encouraged.

Add looked across to Raven. He shrugged. He already knew exactly who he was going to throw it at but she wasn't involved in the snowball fight. At least… not yet. He knelt down and scooped up some snow. Following how Elesis showed him, he made his first snowball. Add made a big show of looking around before throwing it. Dynamo projected the proper arc to throw it to get it right over Rose's shoulder to hit his target. He took a moment to study the arc before he threw the snowball.

As predicted, it flew right past Rose and smacked Aisha in the back of the head. She yelped and rubbed the back of her head. Add laughed. He knew it made him obvious but that was part of the fun. Even if the magician got mad, there wasn't anything for her to do about it.

“Add! be nice!” Ara called but Add ignored her and kept laughing.

Elesis wasn't impressed, “You're always picking on Aisha. Couldn't you have chosen somebody else today?”

Add shook his head, “She picks on me.”

“Getting you back for all the shit you pull is _not_ picking on you,” Elesis argued.

Add shrugged, “So? It's part of our deal. We made one. With Rena.” He looked Elesis in the eyes, “'As long as no one gets hurt then no one will get in trouble'. That's what Rena said.”

“Guess what, you little shit?” Aisha snapped angrily, “That hurt!” She stalked across the yard until she was standing right in front of him.

“You could've ruined my entire experiment by switching labels!” Add snapped back. He wasn't the least bit intimidated. Aisha was all bark anyway. If he annoyed her enough then she would just cry to Elesis. There was nothing Elesis could do because of their deal with Rena. Besides. Elesis wasn't the boss of him.

“What experiment?” Aisha demanded.

“Well, Rena's not letting me do it now. But I was going to do one that involved salt!”

“If you're not doing it then it can't be ruined!”

“It's not like a snowball can cause any permanent damage,” Add smirked at her. She would be stupid to try arguing that point with him.

“That's not what Rena said is it?” Aisha demanded. “She said as long as no one gets hurt.”

“You're gonna make a big deal out of a snowball?” Add demanded.

“If it hurt, it's worth make a big deal out of,” Elesis told him with an edge to her voice.

“But that's easily solved,” Add reasoned since he didn't really want to make Elesis _angry_ per se. Just annoyed. “Snowball fights are a game. If she makes one then she can throw it at me.”

“Yeah,” Ara nodded. Add hadn't noticed her or Chung follow Aisha up.

Raven had approached as well, “Aisha and Add can join our separate teams and play.” He fixed them both with a very firm almost glare, “But I expect you not to exclusively target each other. It's a full team game.” He looked at Add, “Aisha gets a free shot.”

Add stared at him. He opened his mouth to argue but gritted his teeth instead. Raven's face was already angry enough. He didn't want to risk actually setting the man off.

Aisha glared at Add. “Don't expect me to go easy on you just cuz your a kid now.” She stalked angrily over to where Raven's team was gathered.

Add stuck his tongue out, “It wouldn't be any fun even if you went full force.” Dynamo created a “randomized” order in which to target Raven's team and he set to work making snowballs. He scowled when he heard Ain offer to help Aisha get him back. It's not like the angel could hit the broad side of a barn at this distance anyway so it didn't matter. Once Add got bored, he would go back inside to see if Ciel would get Kingdom Hearts for him. For now though, this should be entertaining enough.


	9. Chapter 9

Add picked Snowball out of the snowdrift she managed to get herself stuck in. “Stupid cat,” he carried her back inside. Part of him hoped it would snow again so that he could watch it with the cats like the night before. That was nice. He fought back a yawn. Rena just called for breakfast and he was already exhausted. He was not stranger to staying up all night and it's consequences. It was just harder to ignore them as a kid.

Add set her down after he made sure the door was closed. He also made sure he was the last one in so that no one else would open the door and let her out again. He didn't need that stress. Once he reached the table he saw french toast, sausage, eggs, fruit, and a multitude of over breakfast foods on it. He wasn't surprised by the amount of food Rena, Ciel, and sometimes Raven made for every meal anymore. It would all be gone by the time Elsword and Ara were done eating.

Add sat next to Ciel, on the opposite side of Lu. He was also on the outer edge of the long side of the table, next to Rena's seat. Raven sat on the opposite side as her. Apparently, Elsword and Aisha fought over who sat at the ends of the table once the search party was big enough that it mattered. Raven and Rena got those seats at every meal now. Since Rena was going to make him have at least a little bit of each food group, Add grabbed it for himself. That way he could avoid having the things he didn't like in favor of things he liked more.

Add took Snowball up to his room after breakfast. He pulled the small box that held a few cat toys he bought when they first brought the cats in out from under his bed. He frowned. There weren't a lot. Maybe he could convince someone to go with him to get some. He leaped to his feet and grinned, “I could ask Chung!” It would be easy convincing him, since Sunshine took a liking to him. And Chung actually _liked_ cold weather.

Satisfied with his new plan, Add left Snowball on his pillow and looked around for Chung. He found him in his room, at his desk. A decent stack of books and papers surrounded him. Add wondered if he was reading about Nasods again. He seemed so interested in them since meeting Eve, it wouldn't be surprising.

Add used Dynamo as a stepping stool to climb onto Chung's desk, “What're you reading about?”

Chung looked surprised, “Add! I didn't notice you come in!”

Add shrugged, “You never do when you're reading.” He was long since used to it by now. Not that he could sneak up on Chung at all. He never jumped or yelped or anything fun. Unlike Aisha, who was plenty of fun.

Chung laughed sheepishly, “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Add shrugged again. He glanced at Sunshine, sitting calmly on the other side of the desk, “I noticed the cats don't have a lot of… cat things to play with and sleep in and stuff.” He turned back to Chung, “And I was wondering if you would take me to go get some. Rena said I couldn't go out without someone.”

Chung petted Sunshine, “Sure. I don't know a lot about cats though so…”

Add shrugged again. He dropped off the desk and turned to grin at Chung, “That's why I'm here!” He led Chung down the stairs to tell Rena where they were going. He didn't want her asking where he went when he got back again. Besides, Add wasn't trying to get Chung in trouble. He just wanted toys for Snowball to play with.

“We're gonna get the cats stuff,” Chung said.

Rena glanced at them. She nodded, “Okay. Make sure to be back before lunch.”

“Before it's made or before you start it?” Add asked since those were two very different times.

“Before it's made,” Rena chuckled.

Add nodded. He hurried over to the door and waited for Chung to reach it before he pulled it open. The snow had gotten thicker since he was outside. If he tried to walk through it, it would reach well above his knees. But that was what Dynamo was for.

Add pulled up an isometric grid map of the town. He pointed to the pet store, “This place has plenty of stuff. I've been in there a couple times.”

“You have?” Chung looked from him to the grid and back.

Add nodded, “Yep.” He did have a little bit of an image to uphold so he didn't offer an explanation. It's not like anyone would take him seriously if they found he fed and played with neighborhood cats in his free time. At the very least, Aisha would hold it over his head. He led Chung along the route Dynamo picked to the pet store. On the way, he listed off the things he thought they should get to Chung, including toys and beds and climbing towers. “Maybe we can even get Raven to make ramps and ledges and stuff!”

Chung chuckled, “You know a lot about cats, huh?”

Add stopped, his mouth still open. His face got hot with embarrassment and looked away. “It’s not that much actually…”

Chung smiled, “It’s more than me.”

Add shrugged.

When they reached the store Add dropped off Dynamo and went straight for the toys. He made sure to get a good mix and helped Chung pick out beds. He wasn’t sure the cats were going to use the beds but it was better to have them. Once they were done, Add piled everything onto Dynamo. He stopped by the door.

Chung turned back to look at him, “What’s the matter?”

Add shook his head, “Nothing.” With everything stacked up on Dynamo he was going to have to walk through the snow. That was fine though. At the very least it would help him stay awake. His legs sank almost completely into the snow when he stepped into it. Add whined, “It’s cold.”

“I could carry you if you want,” Chung offered.

“No.” Add turned away stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. He managed to take a few more steps but it was exhausting. Reluctantly, he let Chung carry him home on his back. Despite fighting it, Add fell asleep before they reached the house.

Add’s eyes opened to bright white lights shining directly into his eyes. Hazy silhouettes leaned over him. He couldn’t tell if it was one person moving around or if multiple people stood around him. Indistinct voices echoed in his head. He looked around in confusion but his vision refused to clear. When he tried to move, his body didn’t respond at all. Strangely, that barely elicited a response from him.

Black slowly crept in from the edges of his vision. It seemed to take forever to completely block everything out. Add’s body could move now. The sound of his shoe coming into contact with the ground when he took a step echoed loudly for far too long. Add flinched. He didn’t take another step. Instead he reached out to see if there was anything he could touch.

A low rumbling growl reached his ears and he whipped around. Two sets of glowing red eyes stared at him from the darkness. Add’s eyes widened. He took an involuntary step back. The sound echoed around him again. Two large vaguely wolf-like shapes were outlined by Dynamo. _What do I do?_ With as small as he was, he didn’t stand a chance.

While he debated, they continued their approach. Their growls turned to snarls. The sound echoed deafeningly around him. Add covered his ears but it did nothing to drown it out. He couldn’t think like this. After another moment of hesitation Dynamo suggested a course of action.

_Fight._

Add looked at the creatures approaching him. The outline shifted until he could see their hearts. His eyes narrowed. If he could make it, it was one hit each. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he tailed to take them out in that single strike. Without hesitating, he leaped forward.

The moment he hit the second creature’s heart, white light flashed brightly in front of him. Add stumbled back and shaded his face with his hand. When he could see his eyes widened in shock. Human eyes stared blankly into his own. He looked down and saw himself covered in blood. It soaked into his clothes and was splattered on his face. It dripped off his fingers and pooled around the two bodies lying at his feet.

Add lurched backwards. He stumbled and fell. Icy claws dug into his arms and legs and held him there while the blood continued to pool. It rose and rose until he was drowning in it.

Add’s eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling without blinking until his eyes burned. Finally, he very slowly and carefully sat up. He needed something to wash the salty taste from his mouth. Before he went anywhere near the stairs to do that, he washed his hands. He looked through Dynamo’s files, trying to find some sort of possible explanation but he found nothing.

“Hey buddy! You’re awake!”

Add jumped. He glared at Elesis and got himself a glass of chocolate milk without saying anything.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you,” Elesis apologized. “How’d you sleep?”

Add shrugged indifferently, “No better than usual.”

“So… Not great?”

Add rolled his eyes and muttered, “No. It was fantastic. I dreamed of sunshine and rainbows and chocolate fountains.”

“Yeesh. That was some heavy sarcasm,” Elesis commented. She patted his head, “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll look after you.”

Add snorted. That was only gonna be true for as long as he wasn’t too difficult and he knew it. Instead of commenting on that he asked, “Where’s Rena?”

“Her room, I think.”

Add left the kitchen. He knocked on the elf’s bedroom door, “Rena?”

“One second.” Rena answered her door a moment later. She smiled, “How’d you sleep?”

Add stared at her for a moment. He shrugged and buried his face into her side.

“Is something wrong?” Rena sounded both concerned and confused.

Add hesitated. It wasn’t really wrong. It’s not like anything could be done about a dream. He didn’t want to talk about it anyway. Eventually he responded expressionlessly, “No.”

Rena seemed to understand. “Do you want to help me make the wreath for this year?” She offered.

“I can watch right?”

“Of course,” Rena nodded.

Add followed her to her desk. A mini coniferous tree sat next to it in a pot. He curled up against her side and watched her weave various winter plants together. He was silent and nearly completely still, very different from the near constant activity levels he had before.

Rena clearly noticed. She paused semi-frequently to gently pat his head once or twice before continuing. Add didn’t have enough energy to respond to it in any way. His dream drained him almost completely. Snowball found her way into the room at some point and curled up in Add’s lap.

Add was attached to Rena for the rest of that day and the entirety of the next.


	10. Chapter 10

Ciel led Lu and Add back inside the house. Add successfully convinced the two of them to not only get him the Kingdom Hearts game but also get him an energy drink on their way home.

“Since the siblings are getting into holiday spirit, let's make some gingerbread cookies, yeah?” Ciel suggested, gathering bowls and spoons and other baking dishes.

Lu grinned, “Yeah! We can make them into little men and bite their heads off while they scream for mercy!”

Ciel smiled warmly at her, “Yep!” He looked at Add, “Finish your drink before we finish making cookies.”

Add nodded. It was nice of Ciel to clear out the downstairs for cookie making so that he could drink his drink without getting into trouble. He looked from Ciel to Lu and back again, “Wait… gingerbread cookies are little men?”

“Haven't you had gingerbread cookies before?” Lu's eyes were wide in astonishment.

“No?” Add wasn't really sure why that was important. Whether he'd had gingerbread cookies before shouldn't affect his question any. Nor should it affect whether or not it was answered.

“But Ciel makes them every year!”

“Add only eats the chocolate cookies,” Ciel reminded Lu calmly.

Lu looked up at Ciel. She tipped her head to the side curiously, “Oh yeah. How come?”

Add shrugged, “I don't like anything else.” He didn't even know Ciel made any kind of cookies other than chocolate and chocolate chip but okay. It didn't surprise him that Ciel _could_ make other kinds of cookies but just because someone could do something doesn't mean they do.

“But you haven't had gingerbread cookies,” Lu argued.

“So?”

“What else haven't you had?”

“I only eat chocolate cookies.”

“So, you haven't even had _anything_?” Lu stared at him. “How come?”

“Lu-” Ciel attempted to cut into the argument but Add cut him off.

“I told you. I don't like anything else.”

“But you haven't had anything else.”

“I don't want to have anything else,” Add snapped impatiently.

Lu pouted, “How come you try the new stuff Rena makes but not Ciel?”

“Rena's stuff is different. She makes me try it.”

“No, she doesn't.”

“Yes, she does. The rule is I have to have one bite before I can get something else to eat.” It was a really annoying rule, but a rule all the same. Besides, he was used to it now so it wasn't as much of a hassle as it was at first.

“That applies to Ciel's stuff too!” Lu insisted.

“It does not.” Add argued.

“It does.”

“Does not.”

“Does.”

“Not according to Rena.”

“It does according to me!”

“You're not the boss of me!”

“Lu. Add,” Ciel had to tap both of their heads to get their attention. When they looked up at him he directed them to gathering ingredients like they hadn't been arguing just moments before, “How about you each grab me half of the ingredients on the list? That's eight things each.” He handed Lu her list and Add his.

Add looked over his list. He needed to grab unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, packed light brown sugar, unsulfured molasses, an egg, confectioners' sugar, dried egg white powder, and some water. He stared at the list in confusion, “What the fuck is confectioners' sugar? Why do you need an egg _and_ dried egg white powder? I thought _all_ brown sugar was packaged. And isn't vegetable shortening just fake butter? Why do you need both that and butter? Why does the butter have to be unsalted?”

“Hold on. One question at a time,” Ciel laughed. “Confectioners' sugar is sugar that's been finely powdered. It's used for making icing and candy. The egg is for the cookies while the dried egg white powder is for the icing we're going to put on them. Packed brown sugar isn't the same as packaged brown sugar. Packed brown sugar is when you press it down into itself. The main difference between vegetable shortening and butter is the flavor, or lack thereof in shortening's case. And we have unsalted butter because salt is part of the recipe for the cookies.”

Add stared at Ciel in surprise. While he had expected answers, he had not expected the half-demon to recite them from memory. He shrugged and set to work gathering the ingredients on his list.

Ciel did most of the actual making of the cookies, but finally the dough was rolled out and ready to be turned into little men. Ciel gave Add and Lu each a cookie cutter. He sat at the table next to Lu, his forearms resting on the table, to watch the two kids working on their cookies.

About halfway through cutting the dough Lu turned to Add, “Bet you can't make a little man without using the cutter.”

“Sure, I can,” Add glared at her.

“Do it then,” Lu grinned.

Add smirked, “Only if you do.”

“Coward,” Lu stuck her tongue out.

“Nah,” Add shook his head. He cut out another cookie and set it exactly one inch to the left of the one he did before. He wasn't sure why they needed to be one inch apart, but Ciel said it was important. Dynamo had places set for each of the cookies on the cookie sheet. “You're the one that's refusing to. I said I could do it.”

“Fine. We'll both do it. Whoever's is the prettiest wins a special prize.”

“What kinda special prize?” Add asked curiously.

“I don't know yet,” Lu shrugged. “We'll just make our little men and then we'll figure it out.”

“Maybe the winner gets to decide what flavor the Christmas cake is gonna be,” Add suggested.

“That's not a prize. We're both gonna pick chocolate,” Lu argued.

“Well… maybe pick something other than chocolate.”

“Then you can't pick chocolate either.”

“That's not fair,” Add complained. “I don't know what's good besides chocolate.”

“That sucks.” Lu shrugged indifferently, “The prize is deciding the flavor of the Christmas cake but neither of us can pick chocolate.”

“That's not fair!” Add stomped his foot.

“There's plenty of other good flavors, Add. I can help you pick,” Ciel offered calmly.

Add sulked. What was the point of picking the flavor if he couldn't pick the only flavor he liked? Either way, he refused to lose to Lu. He studied the cookies the cookie cutter had made and carefully shaped the dough with his fingers. It was cold and had a texture he did _not_ like but he pushed those details to the back of his mind.

“We have to decorate it with the icing and stuff too,” Lu added. She pounded her fist into her cookie in frustration a couple times, making Add jump. She glanced at him, “Sorry. This is hard.”

Add stuck his tongue out. He looked down at his own cookie and shrugged, “I don't mind it. My hands just feel really gross.” Once he was satisfied with his cookie he immediately went into the kitchen to wash his hands.

Eve walked past the kitchen on the way to the stairs down to her lab. Add noticed and grinned, “Eve!” He hurried after her, the cookies nearly completely forgotten.

Eve waited for him halfway down the stairs, half turned back toward the top, “Hello, Add.”

“Hi!” He hurried down the stairs until he was on the same step as her, “You're going to your lab right?”

Eve nodded but she didn't move.

Add didn't notice and grinned up at her, “I'm coming too!”

Eve sighed. She didn't say anything but continued down the stairs.

Again, Add didn't notice and happily followed her down the rest of the stairs into her lab. He had yet to be in her lab. Whenever he did help her it was always in her room, or at the table upstairs. Her lab was a box shaped room with multiple tables. The entire wall to the right of the door was all shelves filled with various materials and partially finished projects.

That was where Add went first. Every shelf was meticulously organized, with labels and containers to keep like pieces together. He whistled. She had all sorts of stuff and he didn't even know until now. He looked around for Eve. She was sitting at a table on the other side of the room with various sheets of paper gathered around her. He hopped onto Dynamo and zipped across the room, stopping just before the table, “Whatcha doing?”

“I'm working,” Eve answered simply without looking up.

Add looked around at the papers. They looked like designs but he hadn't seen any of them before. He glanced at Eve, “How come you have all of these but no new friends?”

Eve looked at him, her eyes widened slightly in surprise but her expression quickly cleared. She explained calmly, “I am unwilling to create more Nasods than I can take care of and currently that means that I won't be building any more.”

“Well that's no fun,” Add muttered under his breath.

“I suppose,” Eve shrugged. “However, it's less fun for something to happen to them because I can't protect them.”

“I can help!”

“Thank you for the offer, but that is my responsibility.”

Add sulked. He stuck his tongue out at her, “Okay…” He quickly got bored and returned to looking around. She had an alchemy lab and a corner of her lab was filled with all sorts of weird magical stuff. He glanced back at her, “Why all the magic stuff?”

“I lend my lab to Aisha occasionally. She's developing her own form of magic.”

Add frowned. That seemed dumb. Why bother making her own form of magic when there were already too many versions of it anyway? He wandered back to the alchemy lab and looked it over. It appeared to be operating almost independently. “What's it doing?” He reached out to touch it.

“Please don't touch anything in here,” Eve told him before she answered his question. “It's analyzing various chemicals for their properties and potential uses.”

“Huh.” Add pulled his hand away but continued to watch it. After a few moments he got bored again and wandered back over to the shelves. There was a soft whirring noise coming from one that caught his attention almost immediately. Dynamo located it as something on one of the top shelves near the back. He stood on Dynamo and made sure to be very gentle moving stuff around so he could find it. Eve would no doubt be angry with him if he broke something, by accident or not.

“Add.”

“Yeah?” Add turned to look at Eve.

“I thought I-”

“Oh shit!” Add dropped off Dynamo quickly and shoved his hands into his pockets, “You said not to touch anything!” He was so focused on finding the source of the noise that he completely forgot about that. He shuffled his feet, hoping she wouldn’t get mad at him.

Eve sighed, “Try to remember please.”

Add nodded vigorously, “I will!” He trotted back up to the table where she sat and sat on Dynamo next to her. “Are you making more designs?”

Eve remained silent for a moment, “I might. Currently I'm looking over some of the older ones to ensure they are brought up to date.”

Add laid his head on the table and watched her for what felt like a few hours at least but when he checked the time on Dynamo only ten minutes had passed. He groaned, got up, and wandered around again. There was a closet in the opposite corner of Aisha's weird magic stuff so he wandered over to it and opened the door.

“Add, stay out of there.”

Add looked at Eve curiously, “What is it?”

“The water heater closet,” Eve answered.

Add looked into the closet. All he saw was another wall. Maybe there was a door somewhere. He had yet to see the water heater. Surely there was a more effective way to control the water temperatures than hiding an extra closet in Eve's lab. He wandered into the closet and found another door. Before he could open it, however, Eve called from the first doorway, “Add, come here.”

“But-”

“Now, please.”

Add dragged his feet but followed her out of the closet. Eve made sure the door closed behind him. He sulked under the table Eve sat at, “I'm so bored.”

“I'm not keeping you here,” Eve was very calm.

“You're not usually so boring,” Add muttered.

“It's not my job to entertain you, Add. If this is so boring for you, then you are free to find something else to do. You have no one to blame but yourself should you choose not to.”

Add didn't move, but when time continued to crawl at a snail's pace, he looked around for something to do. He crawled out from under the table and left Eve’s lab to find Snowball. He found her watching the snow fall in his window. Add gathered her favorite toys and took her back to Eve’s lab.

“Please keep the cat off the shelves,” Eve told him the moment she saw Snowball.

Add nodded, “I will.” He set the cat down in the empty space in the middle of the room and played with her there.


	11. Chapter 11

“Eve.”

Eve turned at the sound of her name. She immediately noticed that she could not see the cat. Add looked anxious but also like he was trying not to laugh.

“Don’t get mad at me, but…Snowball got onto one of the shelves.” Add pointed towards the top. He turned back to Eve, “You said not to mess with your stuff so I can’t get her down.”

Eve sighed. Of course, he remembered she didn’t want him messing with things _this_ time. She doubted there was intent behind it but that didn’t make it any less convenient.

She got to her feet and walked over to the shelf. Snowball was in the far back, where even Eve wasn’t going to be able to reach her. “Oberon.”

Oberon stepped out of his portal. He looked down at Add and turned a questioning look to Eve.

“He’ll be back to normal in a bit.” Eve pointed at Snowball, “Get the cat off the shelf please.”

Oberon reached back and carefully picked the cat up. Eve worried for a moment that Snowball might try to scratch him. It was likely to hurt the cat more than him but luckily, Snowball was fine with it. With how often Add was carrying the cat around there likely wasn’t any reason to worry to begin with. She handed the cat back to Add then turned to Oberon, “Make sure the cat doesn’t get up onto one of the shelves again.”

Oberon nodded.

Eve returned to her work.

_Add’s been awfully quiet._ Eve turned and saw him lying on his side on the floor. Snowball was playing with one of her catnip toys near his head. Eve turned halfway back to her desk before turned back. It couldn’t be comfortable lying on the cold tile floor of her lab. Especially since Add slept under nearly every blanket in the house usually. With a sigh she carefully picked him up and carried him to his room.

That night Eve looked up from the design she was refining when she heard a thump from downstairs. She frowned. Everyone should be asleep. Unless Add was back to normal. He slept for much longer periods of time as a child than he did normally. She got to her feet to investigate.

Add was in fact back to normal, sitting on the couch playing the first Kingdom Hearts game Ciel got him. Eve stood by the stairs, completely unnoticed by Add, and watched him for a moment. “No! Kid. Don’t climb the trees! Smack _them_! We need the coconuts!” Add hissed in frustration, “That little asshole got after _both_ of us for being lazy. Why the hell does what’s-her-buckets get to chill at the raft making useless little charms while I do all the work?”

Eve walked up to the couch and rested her hands on the back of it, “Did you throw your controller?”

Add glanced at her in surprise but quickly looked back to his game, “No?”

Eve frowned. That didn't sound like an honest answer. “Who is what’s-her-buckets?”

Add motioned to the screen, “One sec. I’ll go find her and talk to her. She’s making me do all her work for her. Which is stupid.”

Eve sighed. He didn’t have much room to talk with how often he used Chung and Ara as go-betweens. Just because the two of them seemed fine with it didn’t make it any different on a basic level. Not that he listened whenever she pointed that out to him. She watched as the character Add played as approached a redheaded girl.

“Her.”

“Kairi?” Eve looked at Add. She studied him for a moment then shook her head in exasperation.

“What is that for?” Add demanded. He returned to gathering coconuts.

“Nothing. I’m simply amazed at your ability to treat fictional entities created for entertainment purposes the exact same way you do real life people,” Eve commented mildly.

“So? I don’t-No! Dammit kid!” Add interrupted himself to yell at his game. “Smack the fucking trees! You have that fucking stick for a reason!”

“It’s a wooden sword,” Eve pointed out.

“Same thing,” Add waved his hand dismissively.

Eve sighed, “Is this game fulfilling its purpose?”

“What?” Add paused the game and looked at her.

“Are you entertained?”

Add shrugged, “Sure. If confused and frustrated counts as entertained.”

“Considering you habit of including a lot of…questionable moods in your definition of entertained?” Eve shook her head. She walked into the kitchen to get herself some tea. Add laughed and she heard his game resume. In some ways he was more bearable as a child. Though, she would prefer if he remained normal for the rest of their time with the El Search Party. Children in general were far too overwhelming. Based on the way Elesis talked, Add was even more so than the average child.

Eve returned to the couch. She was nice enough to get Add a drink as well. He didn’t thank her but she did manage to catch the split-second smile on his face. It was a recent development and one that he obviously tried to hide. Eve wasn’t sure if any of the others even noticed it yet. Either way, Aisha was not going to be pleased that Elsword won their bet.

Eve shrugged. There wasn’t any need for her to mention it so she wasn’t going to until one of the two noticed. She silently watched Add play his game, accessing and studying the codes and programming while she did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know, guys, if you want me to continue this series. Cuz while it'll probably be a bit slow to update cuz I'm bad with schedules, I do also have some more ideas for other similar situations. I was thinking pairs could look after the rest of them as kids next. They aren't ships necessarily (though if you wanted I guess you could see it that way it's just not my intention). They're just characters I think would have interesting dynamics as the only resident adults.


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